The crop plants cater not only to our basic F5 (food, feed, fiber, fuel, and furniture) needs but also provide a number of nutraceuticals with potential nutritional, safety and therapeutic properties. Many crop plants provide an array of minerals, vitamins, and antioxidant-rich bioactive phytochemicals. Increasing incidences of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and HIV, and malnutrition necessitate global attention to health and nutrition security with equal emphasis to food security. This compendium compiles results of researches on biochemical, physiological and genetic mechanisms underlying biosynthesis of the health and nutrition related nutraceuticals. It also explores the precise breeding strategies for augmentation of their content and amelioration of their quality in crop plants under all commodity categories including cereals and millets, oilseeds, pulses, fruits and nuts, and vegetables. The compendium comprise 5 sections dedicated to these 5 commodity groups and presents enumeration on the concepts, strategies, tools and techniques of nutraceutomics. These sections include 50 chapters devoted to even number of major crop plants. These chapters present deliberations on the biochemistry and medicinal properties of the nutracuticals contained; genetic variation in their contents; classical genetics and breeding for their quantitative and qualitative improvement; tissue culture and genetic engineering for augmentation of productivity and quality; and sources of genes underlying their biosynthesis. They also include comprehensive enumeration on genetic mapping of the genes and QTLs controlling the contents and profile of the nutraceuticals and molecular breeding for their further improvement through marker assisted selection and backcross breeding tools. Prospects of post-genomic precise breeding strategies including genome-wide association mapping, genomic selection, allele mining, and genome editing are also discussed. This compendium fills the gap in academia, and research and development wings of the private sector industries interested in an array of subjects including genetics, genomics, tissue culture, genetic engineering, molecular breeding, genomics-assisted breeding, bioinformatics, biochemistry, physiology, pathology, entomology, pharmacognosy, IPR, etc., and will also facilitate understanding of the policy making agencies and people in the socio-economic domain and research sponsoring agencies.

Cereals like wheat, rice, maize, and barley have long been the dominant crops in agriculture, providing a significant portion of our food supply. Plant breeders and geneticists have always been interested in improving the yield and quality of cereals. The primary challenges in cereal breeding lie in adapting to climate change and enhancing yield and stress tolerance. In recent years, omics approaches such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics have emerged as valuable tools to understand the genetic and molecular basis of cereal development under optimum and stress conditions. However, studying individual datasets for different cereals has limited our comprehensive understanding of complex traits and biological networks. To overcome this limitation, a systems biology approach is necessary. Systems biology integrates multiple omics data, modeling, and cell activity prediction to gain a holistic understanding of biological processes. By considering the whole system and its interactions, rather than isolated components, researchers can develop predictive models and even re-engineer cells. In the context of cereal improvement, systems biology can play a crucial role in identifying and introducing desirable traits such as yield, quality, and stress tolerance. It may help researchers uncover the molecular underpinnings of complex traits and offer insights for enhancing cereals on a national and international scale. The book explores available omics resources, the integration of multi-omics data, and systems biology methods, focusing on their applications in cereals breeding and research. It highlights current and innovative strategies to understand complex traits, improve yield, and enhance resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. It also addresses the challenges and opportunities associated with modeling multi-omics data and analyzing systems-level information. By leveraging systems biology and integrated omics research, this book aims to redefine the future research agenda for cereal improvement.

This book presents deliberations on molecular and genomic mechanisms underlying the interactions of crop plants to the abiotic stresses caused by heat, cold, drought, flooding, submergence, salinity, acidity, etc., important to develop resistant crop varieties. Knowledge on the advanced genetic and genomic crop improvement strategies including molecular breeding, transgenics, genomic-assisted breeding, and the recently emerging genome editing for developing resistant varieties in vegetable crops is imperative for addressing FHNEE (food, health, nutrition, energy, and environment) security. Whole genome sequencing of these crops followed by genotyping-by-sequencing has provided precise information regarding the genes conferring resistance useful for gene discovery, allele mining, and shuttle breeding which in turn opened up the scope for 'designing' crop genomes with resistance to abiotic stresses. The nine chapters each dedicated to a vegetable crop or crop group in this volume elucidate on different types of abiotic stresses and their effects on and interaction with the crop; enumerate on the available genetic diversity with regard to abiotic stress resistance among available cultivars; illuminate on the potential gene pools for utilization in interspecific gene transfer; present brief on classical genetics of stress resistance and traditional breeding for transferring them to their cultivated counterparts; depict the success stories of genetic engineering for developing abiotic stress-resistant crop varieties; discuss on molecular mapping of genes and QTLs underlying stress resistance and their marker-assisted introgression into elite varieties; enunciate on different genomics-aided techniques including genomic selection, allele mining, gene discovery, and gene pyramiding for developing adaptive crop varieties with higher quantity and quality of yields, and also elaborate some case studies on genome editing focusing on specific genes for generating abiotic stress-resistant crops

Genome Engineering via CRISPR-Cas9 Systems presents a compilation of chapters from eminent scientists from across the globe who have established expertise in working with CRISPR-Cas9 systems. Currently, targeted genome engineering is a key technology for basic science, biomedical and industrial applications due to the relative simplicity to which they can be designed, used and applied. However, it is not easy to find relevant information gathered in a single source. The book contains a wide range of applications of CRISPR in research of bacteria, virus, algae, plant and mammalian and also discusses the modeling of drosophila, zebra fish and protozoan, among others. Other topics covered include diagnosis, sensor and therapeutic applications, as well as ethical and regulatory issues. This book is a valuable source not only for beginners in genome engineering, but also researchers, clinicians, stakeholders, policy makers, and practitioners interested in the potential of CRISPR-Cas9 in several fields.

Future Foods: Global Trends, Opportunities, and Sustainability Challenges highlights trends and sustainability challenges along the entire agri-food supply chain. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this book addresses innovations, technological developments, state-of-the-art based research, value chain analysis, and a summary of future sustainability challenges. The book is written for food scientists, researchers, engineers, producers, and policy makers and will be a welcomed reference. Provides practical solutions for overcoming recurring sustainability challenges along the entire agri-food supply chain Highlights potential industrial opportunities and supports circular economy concepts Proposes novel concepts to address various sustainability challenges that can affect and have an impact on the future generations

Modern food biotechnology is now a billion-dollar industry, producing functional foods and nutraceuticals that offer a whole host of increased health benefits, including prevention against illness, and chronic and degenerative conditions. Written by a team of top-tier researchers and scientists from around the world, Biotechnology in Functional Foo

Evolutionary Diversity as a Source for Anticancer Molecules discusses evolutionary diversity as source for anticancer agents derived from bacteria, algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, and gymnosperms. The book goes over the isolation of anticancer agents and the technologyenabled screening process used to develop anticancer drugs. The book also includes discussion of the nutraceuticals and natural productsderived from invertebrates that can be used as part of cancer treatment. Evolutionary Diversity as a Source for Anticancer Molecules also deals with some of the current challenges in the prevention of cancer as well as the side effects of conventional drugs used for cancer patients.This book is a valuable resource for cancer researchers, oncologists, biotechnologists, pharmacologists, and any member of the biomedicalfield interested in understanding more about natural products with anticancer potential. Discusses the application of natural products in place of conventional drugs to minimize the side effects in cancer treatment Explains the relation between evolutionary mechanisms and climate change for production of secondary metabolites